A Misplaced Transmission
by CynthiaW
Summary: KITT intercepts an odd transmission. He and Michael investigate.


Disclaimer: I do not own either _Knight Rider_ or _The Transformers._

A/N: This story goes by the original _Knight Rider_ and _Transformers_ Generation 1. In essence, Michael is played by David Hasselhoff, KITT is voiced by William Daniels, and Optimus Prime sounds like John Wayne.

A Misplaced Transmission

"Michael, I've received a strange transmission. I don't understand it." The black Trans Am's vocal synthesizer sounded puzzled.

Michael Knight, the car's partner and driver, sighed. They were on vacation! Oh, well. He may as well find out more. "What do you mean 'strange,' KITT?"

In response, the AI began a playback of the transmission. " _This is Optimus Prime to all Microbots within range of this transmission. Please seek me out. We are here to take you home._ "

KITT told his driver, "I don't understand what this message means."

"I don't understand it either, buddy," Michael answered. "We may as well check it out. Trace the signal and find out where it came from."

"Right away, Michael."

It didn't take long for KITT to track it down. He quickly switched to Auto and took his human partner to a long stretch of empty highway. Coming towards them were three vehicles that Michael _knew_ normally didn't travel together. In the lead, was a large semi with a red cab. The semi was flanked by an ambulance and a yellow Volkswagen Beetle.

"Michael," KITT said, "the transmission originated from the semi, however none of those three vehicles appears to be occupied."

"Remote control?" his partner asked.

Puzzlement once again colored the words of the AI. "I am uncertain, Michael. There is something off about the readings on my sensors."

This decided Michael. "Let's pull over and see what we can learn."

"Agreed." The car immediately pulled off to the side of the road. The semi and its companions pulled off on the other side, immediately opposite them.

Michael stepped out of the car and closed the door, cautiously approaching the large semi. "Hey, my partner and I picked up your transmission. We've never heard of a Microbot, but maybe we can help."

Optimus Prime considered this, and directed a message to his companions, Bumblebee and Ratchet. "Something doesn't seem right, here. This is the 'bot my sensors picked up."

Bumblebee said, "The human seems to be the superior of the two."

"Maybe so," Ratchet commented. "However, the vehicle is most definitely sentient."

"Then, it is time to see how much the human knows about the 'bot," Optimus decided. Switching to external communications, he spoke to the human. "How is it that you have a Cybertronian as a companion, but you don't know what a Microbot is?"

KITT simply asked, "Michael, what is a Cybertronian?"

Michael crossed his arms over his chest, looked at the car and answered, "That's a very good question, KITT." He turned back to the semi. "What _is_ a Cybertronian?"

Bumblebee decided that this verbal sparring wasn't getting anywhere fast. He said, "If you aren't a Cybertronian, what are you?"

KITT responded the way he'd been programmed to answer. "I am the Knight Industries Two Thousand, or KITT for short."

Optimus recognized that this car was _not_ a Microbot, or a 'bot of any kind. "I must apologize for the confusion. Autobots, transform."

The semi transformed into a large red, blue and silver robot. Michael backed off, caught off-guard by the unexpected change; KITT turned into the road to face the other vehicles. The ambulance transformed into a slightly shorter white robot with red highlights. As Michael nervously rested a hand on KITT's hood, the Beetle suddenly became a yellow robot significantly shorter than the other two, about half the height of the robot that had been the semi.

The tallest robot carefully and gracefully lowered itself to one knee, extending a metallic hand towards Michael. "My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. I'm sure you have many questions."

Michael was rather stunned by the turn of events. This was _not_ what he expected to have to deal with when KITT told him about that odd transmission. Still, the robot was polite enough to introduce itself. He may as well return the favor. Stepping forward, Michael reached out, and took the proffered hand. "I'm Michael Knight." He nodded to the Trans Am beside him. "KITT and I work for the Foundation for Law and Government."

The car offered, "I'm pleased to meet you, Optimus Prime."

Optimus then indicated his two companions. "These are Bumblebee and Ratchet." Each nodded as they were named. Then, the Autobot leader continued, "I should probably begin this by answering your earlier question: what is a Cybertronian?

"Cybertron is the name of a planet; it is our homeworld. It was once in orbit around its own star, but civil war made it a rogue planet roughly 4 million years ago. It is currently not far from your star system."

Michael's eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa! That must have been some war, to knock the planet out of orbit like that."

Optimus nodded. "Our enemies were, and still are, another group of Cybertronians called the Decepticons. They sought to take control of Cybertron, and have been responsible for a great deal of damage to both Cybertron and Earth.

"Since the war was resumed here, we and the Decepticons have sought out other groups of Cybertronians who took sides in the original conflict. This is why I sent out the transmission to the Microbots. They are smaller than most Cybertronians, and were built so due to dwindling resources on Cybertron. If we can find those who worked with the Autobot Army, they will be of great help both here and back home."

KITT's scanner whirred across his front bumper as he considered the new information he'd been given. "Michael, I believe that FLAG's resources may be of help to the Autobots. If we know how to contact them when we locate these Microbots, I can monitor their frequencies for any unusual activity during our standard cases."

Michael nodded at his partner's suggestion. "That's a great idea, KITT. Optimus, is there anyone you'd like us to contact if we hear anything? We have cases all over the country, so we might find something for you at any time."

Optimus looked over at Bumblebee and Ratchet, who had let their leader take control of the conversation, then turned back to Michael and KITT. "I believe I can trust you to make contact with some friends of ours who help us on occasion. Their names are Sparkplug and Spike Witwicky. They helped us adjust to living on Earth."

KITT quickly accessed all existing records on the two humans. "I have their information. We will be able to establish phone contact with them should we need to reach you."

* * *

As KITT and Michael went back to enjoying their vacation, the Autobots headed back to their base. Optimus had a number of thoughts about the unexpected encounter. "It was quite a surprise to find that the humans have found ways to create artificial intelligence. I wasn't aware that the technology existed here."

Ratchet said, "I believe KITT is unique on this world. I have heard of no other vehicle on Earth that has anything approaching sentience."

Optimus agreed with his assessment. "He is, indeed, a unique Earth vehicle. That should make it easier to prevent news of his existence and functions reaching the Decepticons."

"You know there has to have been a prototype," Bumblebee pointed out. "That car is too advanced for most Earth scientists to work on, so they have to have tested this out before putting it on the road. The only question is whether the prototype still functions."

Optimus sighed. "Perhaps, Bumblebee. But our main concern, right now, is making sure the Decepticons don't find out about KITT. The functions he seems capable of are dangerous in the wrong hands. If, and when, we learn of other vehicles like him, we will do what we can for them, as well. In the meantime, let's get back to base and report to the others."


End file.
